A judge in White Plains, N.Y., has ordered Joan Lunden, star of ABC's "Good Morning America," to pay $18,000 a month to her estranged husband in a decision she called "deplorable and shameful."
Her estranged husband, TV producer Michael Krauss, had asked the court for $28,000 a month from Lunden, who earns at least $2 million a year as co-host of the program.Westchester County Judge Nicholas Colabella also ordered Lunden to keep paying expenses for the couple's 10-room colonial style house in Rye, N.Y., along with Krauss' life and health insurance. The couple will share custody of their three children under the judge's order.
"I think this decision is a deplorable and shameful statement on how working women are treated today when we've supported our families and been totally responsible for children," Lunden said in a statement after the judge's ruling.
"Why the courts don't tell a husband who has been living off his wife to go out and get a job is beyond my comprehension."
Krauss said he was sorry and "none of this was necessary," but his lawyer, Norm Sheresky said, "There's enough money in the family for everyone."